Depressive symptoms and C-reactive protein: the Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study.

Background: We tested the hypothesis that depressive symptoms in healthy young adults would be associated with elevated levels of C-reactive proteins (CRP).

Method: We studied the association between depressive symptoms and CRP in 1201 young adults, as a part of the on-going population-based Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study. Depressive symptoms were determined by responses to a revised version of Beck's Depression Inventory in 1992 and 2001. CRP and other known cardiac risk factors were measured in 2001.

Results: Higher depressive symptomatology in 1992 and in 2001 and their means score were related to higher CRP levels (B's range from 0.24 to 0.21, p < 0.001). These relationships persisted after separate adjustments for various risk factors including sex, age, education, oral contraceptive use, dietary fat, physical activity, alcohol consumption, smoking status, LDL-cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, systolic blood pressure and history of acute infectious disease. Adjustments for obesity and triglycerides levels, however, somewhat attenuated the relationship between depressive symptoms and CRP.

Conclusions: We concluded that higher levels of depressive symptoms are associated with higher levels of CRP, but this association may largely be attributable to obesity or triglycerides.